Remembering Shahbaz Bhatti

The community of Sant’Egidio on Wednesday held a conference titled “Shahbaz Bhatti: a life for dialogue and coexistence in Pakistan.” Shahbaz Bhatti was Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Minorities before he was assassinated last month for speaking out against the country’s harsh blasphemy laws.

Among the featured speakers at Wednesday’s conference was the Italian Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini; Chairman of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance and Shahbaz’s Bhatti’s brother, Paul Bhatti; and Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad.

“He was a very committed person, very sincere, very honest,” said Bishop Coutts. “He took [his job] as a responsibility to do something.”

Speaking with Vatican Radio at the conference, the Pakistani Ambassador to Italy, Tasnim Aslam, remembered Bhatti as “a leader with a vision.”

Listen to full interviews with Bishop Joseph Coutts and Ambassador Tasnim Aslam:

On Wednesday evening, a prayer vigil will be held for Shahbaz Bhatti at the Basilica of St Bartholomew on Rome’s Tiber Island.